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How to look after your lawn in a heatwave

We’re more than used to our fair share of rain in the UK, so when the sun does come out, it’s easy to forget about caring for your lawn and focus on enjoying it! However, if you want to keep it looking its best for all those summer BBQS, then you’ll need to take note of our tips below.

How to look after your lawn in a heatwave

Do not feed your lawn

Yes, we all want the Insta-worthy super striped green lawn for our guests arriving, but it's best to put the lawn food down when the hot weather arrives. Our lawn food products come in granular form, so need to be watered in. When the sun is beating down on your lawn, it dries up any water very quickly. This can cause the lawn food to burn your lawn – as it is made up of chemicals that need to be diluted. So, to avoid this becoming an issue, delay feeding your lawn until the heatwave is over.

Watch your watering

During a heatwave, grass can begin to appear yellow or straw like, and this is an indication that it needs watered.  A quick test you can do to check how much water your lawn needs is the Bounce Back test. Step on your grass and off again and see if your grass ‘bounces back’ or stays flat. If it stays flat, your grass needs water. You should water the lawn right away, and then aim to water the lawn deeply between 10 – 14 days apart after this - ensuring all areas receive an inch of water. This irregular watering helps your lawn to develop a thirst, which means it can bounce back when regular rainfall returns.

No mowing

Keeping your grass a little longer than usual is a great way to keep it healthy in a heatwave. Longer grass creates a shadow and allows your lawn to retain water for longer. During extremely hot and dry weather that our lawns aren’t typically accustomed to, grass becomes stressed. Cutting your grass can stress it further, so keep the lawnmower in the shed until things cool down again.

No sowing

New grass seedlings need watered once a day every day for six weeks after being sown, so don’t sow seed during a drought as it will not produce successful results. The best times to sow are when temperatures are 10 degrees and above – but with no extreme weather conditions forecast such as drought or floods. We love a summer sowing as much as the next person, but we do want your grass seed to grow – so avoid this until normal weather conditions return.

Plan ahead

Regularly checking a weather forecast can help greatly with your lawncare regime and help you plan ahead any seeding, feeding and mowing of your lawn. By pre-planning your lawncare you can sit back, relax and enjoy it when the hot weather arrives, and don't forget your suncream!

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